The Mongu High Court has sentenced Phinius Guga to five years imprisonment for the illegal possession of elephant ivory, overturning an earlier acquittal by the Sesheke Magistrate Court. Mr. Guga was initially arrested on 6 November 2022, in Sichili, Mwandi District, Western Province, after Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW) officers discovered two pieces of elephant ivory weighing 6.1 kg concealed in a locked laptop bag in the boot of his motor vehicle. The prosecution called seven witnesses during the trial, including two civilians, a council checkpoint officer, and four DNPW officers. Witnesses testified that Mr. Guga resisted a vehicle search at a council checkpoint and later behaved suspiciously at a DNPW roadblock, refusing to open his boot and attempting to interfere with the search.